Peyton Manning Retires: Career Top 10

"50 Omaha Set Hut"
"They're not saying "boo," they're saying "mooovers"

Photo Creds to www.nydailynews.com

*quick disclaimer*. When I say the year of a playoff game, I am referring to the season in which the game took place. For example, the 2016 AFC Title Game between the Broncos and Pats took place in the year 2016, but it was during the 2015 season. 

The sun has officially set on one of the most colorful careers in NFL history. As has been speculated for a while, Peyton Manning has finally hung up the cleats. The writing had been on the wall for months, as the Toby Keith song, "As good as I once was", applied all too well to #18. This past season, Peyton was a shell of the record-breaking QB that we've loved for the past 20 years. Nine touchdowns and 17 interceptions speak for themselves, and at 38, Manning would have likely been embarrassed further had he stuck it out another year, and even his most ardent supports and family, will attest to that.

But Manning being all used up wasn't the only reason it was time to retire. Despite having an awful statistical year, Manning got to go out on top with a Super Bowl victory. It's a rarity for a QB to retire with a ring, and he did not miss his chance to do exactly just that.

To put it bluntly, Manning playing a down of football in the 2016 season would have been insanity, and I'm glad we won't have to struggle with watching an icon crumble before our very eyes.

This article will be a celebration of one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.I have selected ten moments from Manning's career that I think are his most important. Before we get into the top 10 list, let's get some honorable mentions out of the way.

Honorable Mention #1: The Stats 

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Since Manning's career honors do not meet my qualifications for this list, they are rightfully in the honorable mention section. Just take a minute to soak all of this in:
5x NFL MVP
14X Pro Bowler 
10X All-Pro (7 first team)
2X Offensive POY
2012 Comeback POY
4x leader in passing TD's 
3x Passing Champion 
All-Time Leader in all major Indianapolis Colts passing categories 
NFL All-Time leader in Passing TD's, yards and wins 
NFL 2000's All-Decade team 
2013 Sportsman of the Year
2X Super Bowl champion 

Ok, maybe that took more than a minute.

Honorable Mention #2: Tennessee 

Photo creds to blogs.denverpost.com

This top 10 will be solely regarding Manning's pro career, but his college days deserve a shout out. As a young lad, Peyton caused a high level of disappointment when he shunned Ole Miss, the school in which his father Archie was immortal, for the University of Tennessee. The decision was a difficult one for Archie to handle, but it turned out to be the right one. After relieving future Colorado Rockies star Todd Helton in his first college game, Manning was the Vols starter for the four years, leading Rocky Top to 10 win seasons in 1995, 96 and 97.

The thing that UT fans might remember most of all about Manning is March 5th, 1997. That was the date that Peyton, who would have been a high draft pick had he declared after his Junior year, decided to stay in Knoxville for his senior season.

The only knock on Manning's Rocky Top days is that he never was able to overcome Florida, as the Vols went 0-4 against Steve Spurrier's Gators, and thus were never able to win an SEC Championship or a National Championship. Nonetheless, it will be a long, long time, if ever, that Knoxville will ever see a player like Peyton. Oh, and here are some of his accomplishments

1997 SEC POY
3X All-SEC
1994 SEC Freshman of the Year
1997 Davy O'Brien Award Winner
1997 Maxwell Award Winner
1997 Johnny Unites Award Winner
1997 Citrus Bowl MVP
1997 Consensus 1st-team All-American ( it was a good year for him)
Finished 2nd to Charles Woodson in the 1997 Heisman Trophy Voting 

Now, on to Manning's Pro Career

#10 
1999: The Turnaround of Turnarounds 
When Peyton Manning was selected #1 overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1998 NFL Draft, he was immediately named the starting QB. His first season in the pros was beyond rough, as Indy went a woeful 3-13.

Oh, how a year can make a difference. It all started in the 1999 NFL Draft, when, with the #4 overall pick, Indy selected a Running Back from Miami named Edgerrin James. James would make an immediate impact on the Colts offense, and he, along with a vastly improved Manning and a stud receiver in Marvin Harrison, played the leading parts in the Colts going from 3-13 to 13-3.

Manning's individual season was excellent as well, as #18 passed for  4,135 yards, threw 26 TD's, and was selected to the first of his 14 Pro Bowls as well as the first of 10 All-Pro teams. Although Indy would fall to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Divisional Playoffs, 1999 was the real beginning of a Hall of Fame career, as well as the start of a love affair between a city and it's football team, as the Colts were primed for a decade of success.

#9
September 5th, 2013: 7 TD's!

It was opening night of the 2013 season. Manning's Broncos were playing at a packed Sports Authority Field on a Thursday Night, and their opponents were none other than the Baltimore Ravens, who had knocked them out of the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion just seven months prior, and had gone on to win a Super Bowl that could have been Denver's. Manning got a small measure of revenge by throwing for 462 yards and.... wait for it.... seven touchdown passes, tying the single-game NFL record. Of all of the outstanding single game performances in Manning's career, in my opinion, this one was the greatest, and it led to what is, in my mind, his greatest individual season.

#8
2013: The Old Gray Mare is what he used to be (and maybe a little better)

As it turned out, that 7 TD explosion was the beginning of Manning's greatest statistical season. After Opening Night, Manning threw another 48 TD passes to finish the season with 55. The fun dosen't end there. Manning also  broke Dan Marino's single-season record for passing yards with 5,477, tied the single-season record for completions with 450, and led a Bronco offense that put up an NFL record 606 points. Oh, and he did this all at the young age of 37, less than two years after coming back from a career-threatening neck injury. Manning managed to lead Denver to a Super Bowl bout with the Seattle Seahawks... but we won't talk about that.

#7
2012: The Comeback Kid (or veteran)

Photo creds to kdvr.com

After missing the entire 2011 season with a neck injury and being released by the Colts in the off-season, many wondered what 36-year-old Peyton Manning had left. They wouldn't have to wait long to find out. #18 was picked up by John Elway and the Denver Broncos, and went on to pass for 4,659 yards, throw 37 TD's to just 11 INT's, and was honored by being named First Team All-Pro and NFL Comeback POY. The Broncos finished the regular season with a 13-3 record, and if not for Trey Carter's blown coverage on Jacoby Jones in the final seconds in the AFC Divisional Playoff against Baltimore, then Manning could very well have three rings instead of two.

#6
Breaking Favre's records

Sorry, Brett. Peyton broke your records for most passing yards and TD's, and he only retired once. You can enjoy those special milestones up above. 

#5
2003 AFC Wildcard Game: First playoff win

Manning's first five seasons had plenty of ups and downs, but one constant was not winning a playoff game. That changed in 2003. Jim Mora was fired, Tony Dungy was hired, and the Colts were ready to roll. After a successful 12-4 season that ended with an AFC South Title, Indy had a playoff date with Manning's future employer, the Denver Broncos. It was a laugher. Manning played well, throwing for 327 yards in the first half, and led the Colts to a 41-10 triumph. Indy would then upset the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional round, before falling to Tom Brady's Patriots in the AFC Title Game. Speaking of Brady....

#4
2015 AFC Title Game: He who laughs last

Photo creds to www.bleacherreport.com

Two old gunners. One still at the top of his game. The other in the twilight. Coming into the final clash of Brady vs. Manning, I did not think #18 would hold up. I thought that New England was the better team, and I knew Brady was a much better quarterback. I'm not often wrong, but I was on this day.

The Denver defense knocked the living hell out of Brady while Manning threw two important touchdowns to help his team to a 20-12 lead late. But Tom Terrific was not done, as on fourth down with the game in its dying seconds, he found Rob Gronkowski in the back of the End Zone. Now, the Pats needed to go for a two-point conversion to force OT. They tried. They failed, and Denver was going to the Superbowl. The game was a classic, and certainly a worthy ending to the pro football version of Ali-Frazier. What put this over the top in my mind, however, was what Manning told Brady during the post game handshakes. ''This might be my last rodeo'', Peyton said to Tom. It was, and it was fantastic.

#3
Going out on top

Photo creds to ftw.usatoday.com

Yes, Manning was no longer the leading man when the Broncos won the Lombardi last month. Yes, Manning is statisticly the worst quarterback ever to play in a Super Bowl. Yes, the Broncos defense did the bulk of the work. But none of it matters.

What does matter is that Manning followed in the footsteps of another Bronco legend, John Elway, and ended his career by being THE quarterback of the champions of the world. You could make a strong case for this being Peyton's finest hour, but I have two more beautiful hours that Mr. Manning experienced.

#2
Superbowl XLI: Finally

Photo creds to www.nydailynews.com

Much like Manning's second Super Bowl win, his first triumph was the main story in an otherwise forgettable game. Yes, Indy's 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears was far from a classic, and Peyton turned in far from a Peyton-esque performance, but it doesn't matter to #18. What is important is that after eight seasons of falling short, Manning no longer had to worry about joining the likes of Warren Moon, Jim Kelly, Fran Tarkenton or his father, Archie, in the ''great player who never won the big one'' club. Manning had the stats, and now he had the ring. This also has a case for number one, but in my mind, it is slightly edged by.....

#1
2006 AFC Championship Game: Slaying King Kong

I know that the AFC Championship Game is not as big of a deal as the Super Bowl. However, finally getting past Tom Brady in the playoffs was, in my opinion, a greater triumph for Manning than beating Rex Grossman in the Super Bowl. And he beat Brady in a much more exciting fashion that Grossman.

From 2001-2004, the Colts faced the New England Patriots 6 times and lost all six . 2 of those losses came in the postseason. In 2005, the Colts finally got one on Bill Belichick with a 40-21 victory and followed that up with a 27-20 win in Week 9 of the 2006 season. Now came the real test: Could #18 beat #12 with the season on the line?

For the first 30 minutes of play at the RCA Dome, it looked like the answer would be a resounding no. New England built up a 21-6 halftime lead, and it looked like they had punched their ticket to Miami. But Indy would not fold.

A Manning run and a 1-yard TD pass to Dan Klecko followed by a 2-pt conversion tied things at 21, but Brady would fight back, finding Jabar Gaffney in the end zone to give NE a 28-21 advantage. The fourth quarter was an eventful one, as the two heavyweights would trade blows until finally, with 1:02 left to play, Joseph Addi gave the Colts a 38-34 lead, and the wicked witch was dead at last.

I hope you enjoyed my tribute to Peyton Manning and always remember: Better ingredients, better Pizza, Papa Johns.